1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in floatation devices. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements particularly suited for encased flotation devices such as those used under boat docks and walkways. In particular, the present invention relates to a polyethylene encased expanded polystyrene and concrete ballast core flotation device and method of construction of forming the casing with access points, installing and curing the concrete, molding the flotation foam, sealing all but one of the access points, transporting the semi-sealed float to the use location, and then threading in a sealing plug to the last access point to form a flotation device.
2. Description of the Known Art
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, floats are known in various forms. Patents disclosing information relevant to floats include: U.S. Pat. No. D667,772, issued to Hendren on Sep. 25, 2012 entitled Rotation molded dock float; U.S. Pat. No. D196402, issued to Brown September 1963; U.S. Pat. No. D270529, issued to Thompson on September 1983; U.S. Pat. No. D283220, issued to Collier April 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,156, issued to Svirklys et al. on April 1987; U.S. Pat. No. D298428, issued to Kendle, Jr. on November 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,445, issued to Meriwether on January 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,617, issued to Meriwether on May 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,538, issued to Meriwether on December 1990; U.S. Pat. No. D366023, issued to LeCat on January 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,525, issued to Gruhn et al. on January 2001; U.S. Pat. No. D442137, issued to Coon on May 2001; U.S. Pat. No. D496624, issued to Hartman on September 2004; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,608, issued to Knight et al. on July 2007. Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.
From these prior references it may be seen that these prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved float is needed to overcome these limitations.